cars news 10: New Lotus Elise, Exige at Least 4 Years Away, Destined for U.S.

Bad news: A new Lotus Elise and Exige are at least four years away from introduction. Good news: Both future models will be sold in the U.S.

The report comes from Top Gear, which recently sat down with Lotus boss Jean-Marc Gales to talk about the company’s future plans. Gales revealed his company is plotting replacements for the current Elise and Exige, but also confirmed the models will continue to use an extruded aluminum tub instead of a more expensive carbon fiber tub. The two cars will be available for sale in the U.S. as will the new Evora Roadster.

Just a few days ago, Lotus announced it will build the Lotus Exige Sport 350, set to arrive in Europe by February. The model has lost 112 pounds over the previous Exige S for a claimed weight of just 2,480 pounds. Its 3.5-liter supercharged V-6 engine makes a hearty 345 hp and can hit 60 mph in as quick as 3.7 seconds, Lotus says.

Despite the slew of model introductions, Lotus isn’t stressing about not making it to F1 for the new season. “Not being in F1 is not a blow for this company. Certainly not. F1 is only worthwhile if you have a car that can actually win races, and we didn’t,” Gales told Top Gear. Meanwhile, Lotus continues to keep growing its sales.

Earlier this year, Gales told us that he hopes Lotus can sell as many as 3,000 cars a year. A Lotus SUV is in the works, but don’t expect the company to build its own engines anytime soon.

Source: Top Gear